Stowe Family Law Managing Partner Sarah Snow had an early start this morning when she joined the Wake Up to Money show with Guy Kilty and Mickey Clarke.
Sarah started the conversation by stating that being married does leave you better off financially with tax breaks on income, capital gains and inheritance tax. Married couples should also be in line for each other’s pensions and right to a partner’s estate when they die.
The discussion then moved to civil partnership and people co-habiting with Sarah clarifying that a Civil Partnership is a very similar union to marriage and offers the same rights and protection. For people that co-habit, it is a very different case with very little in terms of rights. Cohabitees have no rights over pensions and as they are now classed as next of kin, no right to their partners’ estate.
For those people that are averse to marriage, there is an option to set-up a Cohabitation Agreement to make an indication of intent about finances, contact with the children and maintenance should the relationship break.
The conversation then turned to the financial downside to getting married as Sarah discussed that if you are the financially stronger party it is better to not be married as there can be no claims against you. On the other hand, if you are the financially weaker party then not being married can leave you with nothing if the marriage breaks.
The discussion ended with Sarah’s plea for people to understand that there is NO such thing as a common law man and wife. If you choose to co-habit, you do NOT have the same rights as people married or in a civil partnership.
You can download the show here
Stowe Family Law in Manchester
Located on Cross Street in Manchester, Sarah Snow heads up our team of divorce lawyers and family solicitors. The team has a wealth of experience in helping people navigate the process of divorce with support and reassurance whatever the challenges of the case.